Swimming lessons - gazing into the abyss

[Carrotsurprise]

My god, how many years does this go on for? My DD started swimming lessons at the start of year 1 now she'll probably be moving up to stage 3 at the end of term. It runs for 50!!!!! weeks of the year. Every bloody Monday evening all year bloody round. And I'm on maternity leave! When I go back to work we'll have the juggling a toddler making sure one person gets home for him and the other goes to swimming. Then one day it'll be time for him to start lessons. Every Monday evening except Christmas, for like ten years? Right? Are swimming lessons really non-negotiable??

This is exactly what we have and have done 👍

Ours stopped when they could swim

Half an hour a week to sit and read a book poolside with no one demanding anything of me? What’s not to like?

As someone who didn’t learn until as an adult and even now amn’t great I’d recommend kids learning to swim early. We couldn’t afford the kids to learn until they were a bit older and I felt the guilt, I think it stands to kids when they’re on holiday as teens/ adults with friends although I do also think the ‘life skill’ is a bit strong sometimes, some of us only get near water once a year and they might be the same!

Mine started lessons in the Mediterranean country we lived in, and then continued in the UK.

The focus of the two were completely different and I font think Swim England is making children safe in the water.

Their lessons abroad focused on strength and safety, rather than perfect strokes. They had to be able to float, tread water, get themselves fro the deep end to the shallow end (25m, no swimming aids) , dive underwater etc before being being taught formal strokes. They were taught to never go into the pool without permission,no running near the water and other safety rules.

I don’t begrudge paying for the lessons etc but ds only get 25mins a week , they get them out 5 mins from the end to do the little award ceremony. I don’t know how long it took me to learn but I don’t feel like the kids in these lessons are making much progress and we will be coming here for years by the looks of it .

Preparing you for school runs 😁

On a serious note, im with everyone else, absolutely worth it.

Since we're ranting about swimming lessons, why is 15 minutes before the start of lane swimming the universally accepted time to engage the pool receptionist in planning out your children's entire life up to adulthood when all I want to do is pay my £6.50 and go and get changed?

Swimming lessons in the UK are a racket. DS(10) is in stage 5, but has been learning for years and years, starting with parent-toddler classes when he was little. We've tried different swim schools, and he's now in a fancy one with a 1:3 ratio, which costs us £350 per term. Even so, he's not exactly made fast progress. He can swim a couple of lengths, but doesn't look the strongest so I'm hoping to keep going until he's finished stage 5.

I really think there is a gap in the UK market for a swim school that doesn't follow the Swim England stages. Something that focuses on learning one stroke on your front, backstroke, floating and treading water. None of this butterfly stuff and having to do all four strokes. I also think it would be good if after the lesson there was space for the kids to stick around and do another half hour on their own/with parents to practice.

If I had my time over I'd have left it until they were 6 or 7 and then got private 1:1 lessons. By that age they are stronger, more coordinated and they learn much quicker and group lessons just aren't very efficient.

I think my daughter spent over a year in stage 4. It turned out they were concentrating on one stroke per week so basically one lesson a month per stroke. She kept failing butterfly. Every time we signed her up for a new term, she'd do 3/4 of the lessons practising skills she'd already passed, and the remaining quarter on what she needed (inasmuch as anyone needs butterfly) at the cracking rate of 30 mins per month. Absolutely ludicrous.

And why are there so few family swim sessions out of school time? Around here the pools are either being used for adult only lanes, swim club, or swimming lessons, with open swim happening in the mornings and early afternoons.

Yes it's bollocks but parents don't want to take their kids swimming and teach them now. The local leisure centre lessons are shit and there's zero incentive to actually teach a child, just plod away for years and years. Plus there's no swimming with school now.

I'm a very good swimmer. I didn't go for years and years of lessons. My parents taught me to swim very young then took me regularly for fun. I did swimming lessons for a few years in junior school where I did some badges. I went on holiday with a pool for 2 weeks once a year. Nowadays I tend to swim twice a week.

The problem is that swimming lessons keep our leisure centres afloat. It's a bit like a very specific tax. It is tedious but honestly you can just read your phone and drink a coffee for 30 mins a week, then faff around in the changing room. Most people have swimming routine down.

Yep, this is my stance.

That's how I did it too.

If you can get a pool with steps (rather than a ladder) it's easier for them to push off.

i did put mine into lessons (Very long waiting lists) for six weeks but the progress/time in the water was so limited we didn't do another block.

No my child can't swim butterfly but by 7 she could do 20/30 lengths of reasonable front crawl and breast stoke at the start of our family swim then play at the deep end, diving etc.

There's no stamina building in the lessons until much later.

“Both still shite at it” sent me into a snorting laugh @Pringlebeak 🤣🤣🤣

Which is why kids should be used to going into rivers and lakes so they aren’t shocked if they fall into one. Then they can get themselves out safely.

Once you can swim you can learn how to swim out of a riptide, you swim parallel to the shore and you’ll come out of it.

Theres always going to be an extreme condition that can take anyone, but being a strong swimmer and used to cold water is more than just helpful and would likely give you the skills and confidence to save yourself rather than panicking.

I'm a very good swimmer. I didn't go for years and years of lessons. My parents taught me to swim very young then took me regularly for fun.

This. ^ Why on earth are peoples children going for years and years of swimming lessons, that are costing thousands of pounds?

Not being judgy or anything, I just don't get it. It's not taken more than 8-16 weeks for almost everyone I know. (10 to 18 lessons.) It cost most people less than £200 in total for all the lessons needed for their child to be able to swim. (Some paid less that £100.)

It's swimming, not learning to be a Brain Surgeon.

What's occurring?

The best swimmer I know is from a Scottish island with no swimming pool.

They were put in the (very cold) North sea to learn and as a result learned fast.

Swimming lessons in the UK are a con. In the end I taught mine in 1 summer by myself. He was about 7.

Many yrs ago I had lessons, starting age 8. I learned in just 6 weeks (but carried on with lessons for 2 yrs) because my lessons were 1 hr 2 x weekly. Now lessons are 30 mins 1 x weekly. DS1 started lessons, and was there for ages, not really getting anywhere. Eventually we started taking him swimming ourselves as much as possible to supplement his lessons. All he needed was more time in water to practise, as simple as that. He learned quickly and carried on with lessons for short while after that and then stopped. Same thing happened with DS2, except we didn't leave him so long before taking him ourselves.

My kids hated swimming lessons, we did the baby ones where we went in the pool with them but age 3 when they had to go in without parents they just climbed back out again. We gave up, just took them swimming for fun, and then when they were about 5 or 6 signed them up for a 'crash course' which is lessons everyday for a week in the summer holidays. The second year suddenly they could swim and then they had occasional one to one lessons in the holidays to improve technique.

Mine are now teens and, whilst it was miserable at the time, I am glad we persevered as, from the age of 8, they have been able to go swimming with friends by themselves and now that they are off surfing or paddle boarding and things I feel that, as decent swimmers, they are less likely to die than they might otherwise be.
Do try and make it as easy for yourself as possible. My two were always in lessons at the same time as each other or at least in consecutive lessons. They wore their onesies to the pool with their swimmers underneath and then quickly took of their swimmers, put some pants on and then their onesie and a hair wrap and then we came home for a shower and hair wash.
Like a PP, we took advantage of crash courses at least once a year. I always quite liked the lessons around Christmas and in the middle of the summer holidays as there might only be a couple of children in the class so you could get them to focus on the exact points that your child needed to work on. So check in with the swimming instructor from time to time. I couldn’t work out why DD wasn’t moving up at one stage and it turned out she wasn’t positioning her fingers together. The teacher had told her this several times but, for some reason, DD just couldn’t figure it out or why it mattered so wasn’t doing it. Once the instructor told me what the issue was, I was able to explain it to DD, took her to the pool so she could practise that skill and then she was moved up a stage,

DS started swimming as an infant, the submersion lessons where they learn to get to the side or float. The babies from his group all became excellent swimmers and DS was competitive until he reached senior school when rugby took over. At five he moved to a swimming club and was at competition level by 9 or 10. Technically he is a very good swimmer after years of coaching. He would have continued to swim but loves rugby more and couldn’t do both.

Swimmng lessons were an absolute must due to us living close to a huge river and canals. In addition to grandma having a big pond. She fenced it off but we found out that he was a bit of a Houdini with stair gates and secure locks so needed to know that he could at least make an attempt at save by himself if he ended up in water. By the time he was 5 he could swim a width of the pool underwater and by 12 could do 2 lengths under water. I think it is the ability to not panic and then orientate themselves that is important. Part of the early stage was being thrown in the water by the swim teacher. It was their fun treat at the end of a session. They were like seals.

It took me three years to get the hang of swimming and when I did, it happened all at once and my mother, who’d been half asleep over her book was GALVANIZED into shouting me on. I’m sure she put out bunting, mentally.

Took my eldest 3 years to complete stage 5. He finished and my youngest started the following week 🙈 I imagine I have 2.5 years to go.
I'd gotten used to going up to the gym while my eldest had a lesson as he could shower and change himself....nope now I'm back to sitting poolside 😭